Category Archives: March 2014

This was reposted from LiveJournal, and was one of my first independent book reviews, so please forgive how terrible it is. However, if I remember correctly, the book really was this bad:

“I was recently sent an ebook to review called Bumping Noses and Cherry Pie by Charie D. La Marr, of the circuspunk genre. Do not buy it. It gets 1.5 stars out of 5 for being vulgar and a waste of my time. Sorry, Charie, your intro was better written than your anthology. Better luck next time.”

This book, being the quintessential tome from which today’s obsession with vampires and all things related stems, was both more interesting and harder to get through than anticipated. Written in epistolary form, through letters, journal entries, newspaper excerpts and phonograph transcripts, Stoker’s technique is fascinating. I found some of the phonetic spelling of accents and density of various journal entries to be difficult to slog through, but the content itself held my interest.

I found Van Helsing’s quaint ways in the novel preferable to the badass ones of Hugh Jackman in the incredibly cheesy movie, ‘Van Helsing’. Quincey Morris’ bravado and Dr. John Seward’s psychologically clinical nature were well-represented stereotypes, and Dr. Seward’s pet patient, Renfield, is a strange creature worthy of Steve Buscemi himself. Mina and Jonathan Harker, Lucy Westenra, and Count Dracula himself: all of the above are excellent examples of characterization.

As for the ending, (which, if I may say so, my husband Graham disliked), I found its tragedy and passion to be appropriately pathetic enough for a book of the classic gothic horror genre. I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

To end this review, I would like to share some quotes I really liked from the book:

Remember, my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker.

– Dr. Abraham Van Helsing

There are darknesses in life, and there are lights; you are one of the lights.

– Van Helsing to Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker

You must fight Death himself, though he come to you in pain or in joy; by the day, or in the night; in safety or in peril! On your living soul I charge you that you do not die – nay, nor think of death – till this great evil be past.

– Van Helsing to Mina

We are truly in the hands of God. He alone knows what may be, and I pray Him, with all the strength of my sad and humble soul, that He will watch over my beloved husband; that whatever may happen, Jonathan may know that I loved him and honoured him more than I can say, and that my latest and truest thought will be always for him.

Hello, dear readers!!! As you may remember, a while ago, my husband and I challenged each other to read a book and review it. I was given Bram Stoker’s Dracula and my husband Graham was allotted Frank Herbert’s Dune. Here are those reviews! The honour of first review goes to my husband Graham Podolecki, who, admittedly, writes better book reviews than I do.

Dune by Frank Herbert

A prophetic and earnest work, Frank Herbert’s Dune is a foundational text for modern science fiction, bringing in themes that in 1968 were just beginning to acquire prominence: ecology, over-dependence on foreign resources, and the sometimes breathtaking ignorance of ruling powers to the needs or even existence of former colonial societies. Dune addresses these issues in the background of the rise of young Paul Atreides whose family’s recent acquisition of Arrakis from the rival Harkonnen family. This sets off a play of factors that transforms him into the prophet and overall superman of the native population (Fremen) Muab’Dib.

Featuring an epic scale of characters, and the first work in a long line of sequels, Dune seems to spend a significant amount of time introducing its world, and it lags in parts. Herbert’s introspective look at his character provides fascinating psychological analysis, although the book seems to have an over-serious view; humour is almost entirely absent. Dune is a rewarding work to read but the reader must be patient, and ready to slog through rough patches.

This was the lovely book sent to me to review by the ever-obliging Jimmy Olsen. AND I LOVED IT.

I did not expect Things in Ditches by Jimmy Olsen to be as good as it was. A murder mystery set in a small town in Minnesota? What could be interesting about that? Plenty, it turns out. Having lived in small towns most of my life, I was pleasantly surprised by the true-to-life foibles and quirks of the characters of Willow River, Minnesota, who seemed as though they could step out of the pages at any moment to give me their small-town gossip. This book especially shone in comparison to an anthology I have recently read, all stories claiming to be in small towns of just over 700 people, yet complete with street gangs, multiple insurance firms, and booming coal businesses.

The mystery itself was intriguing and kept me guessing, even, at times, laughing. The conclusion was all one could hope for, with a resolution to every loose end and a twist at the revelation of the true killer that infinitely satisfying.

One other aspect I found endearing, being from Winnipeg myself, was Olsen’s mention of it as the protagonist’s possible getaway point.

All in all, I give this novel 5 stars out of 5 and recommend it to anyone looking for a mystery that could be happening right now, next door.